Quick answer
Every spec-sheet and site term you will meet when hiring access equipment, defined in plain English — from ATM and articulating boom to Yellow Card and zero turning radius. Working height means platform height plus about two metres of reach; most other confusion follows from that one.
Spec sheets, safety paperwork and hire yards all speak their own language. This glossary defines every term you are likely to meet when hiring access equipment in Australia, in plain English. Terms link back to the machines and guides where they matter.
A
Anchor point: the rated attachment point in a boom lift basket for a harness lanyard. Marked by the manufacturer; the only place a lanyard should be clipped.
Articulating (knuckle) boom: a boom lift with jointed sections that fold, letting the basket reach up and over obstructions rather than only in a straight line.
ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass): the maximum a loaded trailer may legally weigh — trailer plus machine plus everything on it. The number that decides whether a machine can be collected on your trailer.
B
Ballast: built-in counterweight low in a machine’s chassis that keeps it stable as the platform rises.
Boom length: the measured length of a boom lift’s arm assembly; in NSW, 11 m of boom length is the licensing threshold for the WP high-risk work licence.
C
Capacity plate: the plate on the platform stating maximum load and persons. People, tools and materials all count against it.
Crawler: another word for a tracked machine — one that runs on rubber tracks rather than wheels.
D
Deck (roll-out) extension: a sliding platform section that extends the working deck of a scissor lift, usually with its own lower capacity limit.
Drive at height: the ability to reposition the machine while the platform is raised. Most scissors allow it within limits; many spider lifts do not.
Duty cycle: how hard a machine works across a shift — drive distance, lift count, load. The honest driver of battery runtime.
E
Emergency lowering: the manual system that brings a raised platform down if power fails — covered at every handover; know where it is before you need it.
Emergency stop (e-stop): the red stop button at both the platform and ground stations. Either one pressed disables the machine.
EWP (Elevating Work Platform): the family name for scissor lifts, boom lifts, vertical masts and spider lifts — any powered platform that elevates people.
Exclusion zone: the area kept clear beneath and around elevated work, protecting people below from dropped objects and the machine’s movement.
F
Fall arrest / fall restraint: harness systems that stop a fall or prevent reaching a fall edge. In boom baskets a harness with lanyard on the anchor point is mandatory.
Foam-filled tyres: pneumatic-profile tyres filled with resilient foam — rough-terrain grip without puncture flats.
G
Gradeability: the steepest slope a machine can DRIVE up in stowed position, as a percentage. Not the slope it may be OPERATED on — that limit is far smaller.
Ground controls: the lower control station used for setup, emergencies and rescue — able to override the platform.
Ground pressure: the machine’s weight divided over its contact area. Tracks spread load and lower it; wheels concentrate it — the number that decides lawns, pavers and suspended floors.
H
High-risk work licence (WP class): the NSW licence required to operate boom-type EWPs with 11 m or more boom length. Scissor lifts do not require one at any height.
Hydraulics: the fluid-pressure system that lifts, steers and (on many machines) drives. Leaks are a stop-work fault, not a top-up job, on a hired machine.
I
Induction: a site’s onboarding requirement before workers or machines may enter — common on managed sites and shopping centres; arrange before delivery day.
K
Knuckle boom: see Articulating boom.
L
Lanyard: the short line connecting a harness to the basket anchor point — kept short to restrain, not to arrest a long fall.
Load sensing (overload system): the system that measures platform load and refuses to lift beyond the rated capacity.
M
MEWP: Mobile Elevating Work Platform — international standard term for the same machines; used interchangeably with EWP in Australia.
N
Non-marking tyres: light-coloured solid tyres that do not scuff finished floors — standard on indoor electric scissors.
O
Oscillating axle: an axle that pivots to keep all four wheels grounded on uneven terrain — a rough-terrain stability feature.
Outriggers / stabilisers: deployable legs that level and stabilise a machine before lifting; spider lifts require them, and some RT scissors auto-level with them.
P
Platform capacity: the maximum combined weight of people, tools and materials the platform may carry — on the capacity plate and spec sheet.
Platform height: the height of the platform FLOOR at full elevation. The machine class number (19ft, 26ft) refers to this, not to reach.
Pothole protection: bars that deploy under a raised scissor lift, limiting chassis drop if a wheel finds a hole; a fault in this system stops lifting.
Pre-start (pre-op) check: the daily documented inspection before first use — walkaround, controls, safety devices. The machine’s logbook records it.
R
Rated capacity: see Platform capacity and SWL.
Risk assessment: the documented process of identifying and controlling the hazards of a task; machine-specific risk assessments are available for our fleet.
Rough terrain (RT): machines built for unsealed ground — high clearance, lugged or foam-filled tyres, 4WD, usually diesel.
S
Scissor lift: an EWP whose platform rises vertically on folding cross-braced arms — big deck, straight up, the workhorse of indoor access.
Slab machine: yard shorthand for an electric scissor built for firm, level, sealed floors only.
Spider lift: a tracked, outrigger-stabilised boom that folds narrow enough for doorways — tight-access and sensitive-floor specialist.
Stowed height: the machine’s height fully lowered (rails up unless stated) — the number that decides door headers and low ducts on the route in.
SWL (Safe Working Load): the maximum load a machine or component is rated to carry safely — on EWP platforms, expressed as platform capacity.
SWMS (Safe Work Method Statement): the documented plan required for high-risk construction work, including work at height — prepared by the contractor doing the work.
T
Telescopic (straight) boom: a boom lift whose sections extend in a straight line — maximum outreach, no up-and-over.
Tilt alarm: the sensor and alarm that trigger when the chassis exceeds its slope rating, cutting lift functions — the machine protecting its stability.
Tracked machine: an EWP on rubber crawler tracks — low ground pressure for lawns, pavers and soft ground; slower, delivery-only.
Turning radius: the space a machine needs to turn; zero inside radius means it pivots within its own footprint.
W
Working height: the height a person can WORK at from the raised platform — platform height plus about two metres of standing reach. The number to match to your task.
WP licence: see High-risk work licence.
Y
Yellow Card: the EWPA’s nationally recognised operator training for EWP classes (scissor SL, boom BL and others) — the accepted competency in NSW where a high-risk licence is not required.
Z
Zero (inside) turning radius: the machine can rotate within its own footprint — the tight-aisle manoeuvrability figure on compact scissors.
Missing a term you hit on a spec sheet or site document? Call us on 0472 721 234 and we will add it — this glossary grows from real questions.